5 Tips To Help You Prepare For Online Reputation Management

I think we’d all agree any complex task goes a lot better when the proper tools and training are in place before you decide to get started, right? While it’s easy to put online reputation management on the back burner when it’s smooth sailing for your business, laying the groundwork is critical to succeeding when the inevitable storm appears on the horizon.

Sure the excuse of, “I’m not an internet person” may have worked ten years ago, but it can only harm your business today. The good news is that positioning to protect your good name online it doesn’t have to be a headache! In this post we’ll share some tips from our expert crisis management consultants meant to help you lay a strong foundation for your own online reputation management needs. Without further ado, let’s dive right into these 5 Tips To Help You Prepare For Online Reputation Management:

1. Claiming profiles is critical to reputation management

First, make sure you’ve claimed your profiles on all major review and social media platforms. If you simply don’t have time to stay active on multiple social media accounts that’s fine, but you need to own your profiles and have alerts for new messages or interactions delivered to an email you check regularly.

This will help more people get in touch with legitimate questions, position you to respond to issues on the major platforms, and ensure nobody can impersonate you to spread ill will — an increasingly common tactic for upset customers to employ.

2. Know how to use your online platforms

Know how the big functions, like reporting reviews on Yelp, moderating posts on Facebook, and limiting or restricting on Instagram, work. None of these are tremendously difficult to use, but they do each have their own systems and learning to use them in the middle of a reputation threat is sure to burn up critical time that could be better spent actually managing the issue.

3. Backups ensure reputation management is always covered

Train a backup! Far too often we hear “the only person who can do that is out today” when it comes to online issues. If you only have one person that’s capable of doing core online reputation management tasks – things like website updates, logging in to review platforms, or posting and moderating on social media, that’s a big vulnerability and you’ll want to get it patched ASAP.

4. Automating monitoring efforts saves time and energy

Having automated monitoring in place for terms like your practice name, owner’s names, and similar is another essential. After all, if there are bad things being said about your brand online, you need to be among the first to know so you can manage the situation before it can escalate. There are a variety of tools, from the semi-automated and free, like Hootsuite or Google Alerts, to the more complex and paid – Mentionlytics is one I personally use in this category. No automated system will catch 100% of mentions, but it will vastly increase your overall brand awareness and crisis response times to have this helping hand.

5. Don’t forget the human factor when you’re working to address business reputation

Find a relaxation technique you trust. Deep breaths are always a great option here…I’m serious! With the levels of animosity and aggression present in most online discussion of negative issues today, one of the most powerful tools in your arsenal is the ability to re-center yourself physically and mentally, and to help staff do the same. You can’t do reputation management well when you’re feeling completely overwhelmed, so figure out a healthy way to relax that works for your place of business. Most find even a few minutes to re-center helps massively in to maintain a compassionate, caring attitude and communicate effectively when facing the social media pitchfork squad.

To speak with a Bernstein Crisis Management Consultant today, click here.